William briggs



W. BRIGGS.

, Breech Loading Fire A rm.

Patented April 6, 1869.

"IIIIIIIIII'IWJ/IIIIIIII II InvenZor v (1%? Toall whom it may cohcem 9 WILLIAM BRIGGS, 0F NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA. I tmersrdammsacos, dated Aprile, 1869. v

I'be Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Bnrces, of Norrisbown, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a com hined breech and muzzle-loading fire-arm; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that class of fire-arms in which the barrels are caused to slide forward from the breech-piece, to. openthe breech; and

I My invention consists in a peculiar arrangement of levers for operating the barrels.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and apply my invention, I will now proceed to describe -its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in whic Figure Lisa sectional elevation of my combined mech andmuzzle-loading fire-arm, showing a portion of the stockin red lines}:

mgure 2, a section through hue of-tlie bari eis, show ,-'ing the breech open;

Figure 3, a transverse: section on the line 1-2, fig. 1,

looking towardthe-front of the breech-piece;

Figure 4, a transverse section on the line 34, fig. 1;

. Figure'b, a plan view of fig. 2; and

Figure 6, an enlarged view of a portion of fig. 4.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A metal breech-piece,A,is secured, by the usual tongue, at, to the stock B of a double-barrelled firearm, and to the front portion of this breechpieceis screwed, or otherwisesecured, a hollgw-stem, or tube, 0.

D D represent the barrels of the fire-arm, secured together in the ordinary manner, and having, at their under side, a rib, E, through which extends a. longitudinal opening, I), for the admission of the tube 0.

The barrels are thus arranged to slide toward or from the breech-piece A upon the tube. 0, the friction between them and the tube being reduced by straight or spiral grooves, 0, cut in the edges of the opening, b, as shown in fig. 6. g

The barrels are operated by an arm, F, the inner end of which turns upon a stationary pin, d, in the breech-piece, and by a lever, G,.the inner end of which is hung to a pin, c, secured to projections ff on the rib E of the barrels,'the arm and'lever being connected together by a pin, 9, as shown in figs; 1 and 2.

The upper, edge of the arm .13 is" curved, so that when the barrels are closed it niay adapt itself to the 1 curved shape of the projections ff of the rib E; and

the arm is recessed, as shown at h, for the reception of a portion of the lever G. (See figs-1 and 2.)

a. The whole weight of the barrels, in sliding upon the tube 0, is'not borne by the latter,'which serves more as a 'guide, to maintain them iii a proper position, than as a support, but by the front portion, B, of the stbck, I as shown in fig. 4, and the motionof the barrelsis limthe outer end of the. lever.

ited by the retaining-pin i of the stock, (shown in red lines, figs. 1 and 4,) which enters a longitudinal slot,

j, formed ina projecting portion of the rib E of the barrels.

a When the breech is closed, the arm F and lover G .are flush with the under side of the stock, in which position they are maintained by a spring-catch, It, at

The hooked end of this spring-catch passes through an opening in the rib E, and, enters a notch formed for its reception, on the lower edgeof the slot. j, from which it may be withdrawn, when desired, by operating a ring, It, at its opposite end, (figs. 1 and 2.).

- A steel cartridge-case,'H, is arranged to fit snugly in an enlargement, m,- of the bore 'of each barrel, the

flange of the cartridge bearing against the rear end of the barrel, and its front end against theshoulder n in the bore. Y I

"The chamber 11, in the cartridge-ease, is of 'such a "diameter'as'to'iorr'rfa continuation of the bore, and in the recessed rear end'of the case is a nipple, q. (See I of each of the barrels, is formed a circular recess, 'r,

for the reception of the flange of the cartridge-case, and communicating with each of theseopenings, is astriker-pin, .s, and beneath each opening a spring cartridge-extractor. (See figs. 2 and 3.)

The barrels, when closed, are maintained ina proper position in respect to the breech-piece .A, and are prevented from turnin laterally upon the tube 0, as a centre, by means 0 alug, 'v, on the tube, which entors a recess on the underside, and at the rear end of the rib E, (figs. land-3.)

' Operation.

When the' above-described fire-arm is to be used as abreeeh-loader, a number of the cartridge-cases is.

prepared, each being loaded withprdinary ammunition, and properly capped.

The breech having been ripened, as shown in fi'g. 2,

- ends are brought close up to the face of the breechpiece.

When thus closed, the barrels are locked by the spring-catch kof the lever G, as before described, and

the strikers s are in contact with the capped nipples q of each of the cartridge-cases. The charges contained "in each of the latter are ignited by means of these striker-pins, the outer ends of which are struck by the hammers X of the fire-arm. (See fig. 1.)

After discharging one or both of the barrels, the hooked end of the spring-catch k is, by means o its 11 the breech-piece 'A, at a point directly in the rear' fore, this operation being repeated as required, 'while' using'th'e arm as a breech-loader.

'If the arm is to be used as a muzzle loader, a. cartridge-ease is inserted into the rear of each barrel, and,

if loaded, may be discharged, as before described.

When the barrels are thus closed, to be loaded from the muzzle, the operating-levers are concealed within.

the stock, and, with the exception of the ring it, the

arm presents, externally, the appearance of an ordi-' nary muzzle-loading fowling-piece, while the chambers 12 of the cartridge-cases, forming a continuation of the interior of the bores, can receive the charge inserted at the muzzle.

The tube 0 serves as a sheath for the inner end of the ramrod L, by which the barrels are loaded from the muzzle in the usual manner, and after thus loading the barrels, they are opened at the breech, to the limited extent necessary for placing the caps on the nipples Although I have described my invention as applied to a double-barrelled fowling-piece, it will be evident that it may be adapted to fire-arms of other descriptions, the great advantage gained by its use being the fact that no expensive prepared ammunition is req'uired,whether the arm be loaded from the muzzle or the breech, while the devices for opening and closing the breech are of so simple a character that they can be applied to most of the muzzle+loaders in common use.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The arm F, hinged to the breech-piece, and the operating-lever G, jointed, near its centre, to the said am, and at its end to the barrels, the several parts being arranged so that the barrels shall be moved forward 6n the backward movement of the operating-lever, as

set forth. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- WILLIAM BRIGGS. Witnesses:

Jorm Warm, O. B. PRICE. 

